Deduction
by GenesicDriver
Summary: Lobelia discovers a shocking secret about Erica.


Deduction

The night was cold in the city of Paris, and the city was glowing with lights. But one place shone brighter: Chatte Noire. With the performances by numerous talent such as dancers, magicians, singers, and comedians, it glowed in more than one way.

One such talent was making her way home on this chilly evening. Wearing a red dress issued to initiate Sisters, she strolled her way back home after another night of being part of the Black Cat Waltz, one of Chatte Noire's most popular events. This girl was Erica Fontaine. Despite her talent for dancing, she was prone to making mistakes on stage such as slipping and falling over, breaking the dancers' formation. Despite that, though, she was still loved for her endearing personality. Just another night at the revue…

"Erica."

As she decided to make a shortcut through an alley (It was getting steadily colder) she saw a familiar figure leaning on a wall. This woman was tall, wore a green trench coat, and had a pair of bruised glasses. This was Lobelia Carlini, who just happened to be public enemy number one. Despite this, though, she was still one of Erica's best friends, and performed at Chatte Noire using the foolproof disguise of a belly dancing outfit.

"Lobelia! You were wonderful tonight!" Erica complimented her fugitive friend, running over to her side. It was cold, yes, but it couldn't hurt to stop for a quick chat with a friend.

"Hm. Thanks, Erica." Lobelia replied.

Suddenly, Erica noticed Lobelia's gaze on her getting sharper, and notably confrontational. Did something happen?

"Hey, Lobelia? Are you alright? You look like you're in a bad mood."

"Huh? Oh, no, it's nothing like that, don't worry," Lobelia replied, standing forward from her leaning position. "I just want to ask you something."

"Ask me something? Well, of course! What's on your mind?"

"Tell me, do you really trip and fall constantly?"

"Well, of course!" Erica replied. Her being clumsy was a commonly known fact among the staff at Chatte Noire, so why would Lobelia be asking her?

"Are you sure it's just something natural?" Her gaze seemed to get sterner.

"Well, um, yeah. I can't help it, I'm afraid, Lobelia." Why is she getting so hostile?

"Oh, really? 'You can't help it', huh? Sure, I'll believe that, you fraud!"

"F-Fraud?!" Erica jumped back. Why would Lobelia be accusing her of being a fraud? A fraud of what?

"5 PM today," Lobelia began to recall. "I came in earlier so I could get a bonus for working more hours, and who do I see practicing tripping poses and sad, heart-melting facial expressions?" She placed her foot forward, followed by pointing an accusing finger.

"You."

Erica gasped, shocked. Looking down and gathering her thoughts, she looked back up at Lobelia and opened her mouth to retort.

"Well, I-"

"And not only that, but you seem to fall in ways that don't seem humanly possible! You trip getting up from sitting down, you trip _up_ the stairs, and you somehow trip while you're on-stage, where the floor is designed to be suitable for dancers like you!"

"And not only that…" She adjusted her glasses for dramatic effect. "You always seem to trip while other people are around. They always make a fuss over you. And who makes a fuss over you the most? Captain Ogami."

Erica was looking down again as Lobelia reached the end of her culmination of clues.

"Ultimately, all of this has to mean one thing: Your so called 'clumsiness' is just an attempt to attract attention from men, specifically the Captain, who happens to have quite the wage!"

Done with her rant, she crossed her arms and looked at Erica. "And what do you have to say about all this?"

The nun remained silent for a moment more. As Lobelia was about to present more evidence, she heard a soft, sinister laugh.

"Well, you're smarter than your average prison thug, I see." Erica looked back up at Lobelia, an uncharacteristically evil smile on her face. "It's true, all of it! The bouts of clumsiness? My stupidly adorable Good Morning Dance? All perfectly calculated little lies."

The look Erica had on her face was now starting to give _Lobelia_ some chills.

"I have nowhere to go other than that dead-end place you call a monastery, so I decided to win over the hearts of the wealthy men of this city with a facade of klutziness! Ogami entering the picture was a lucky break, admittedly, but it worked!" She let out another cackle of laughter.

"You think that I actually _like_ like Ogami? Please! The only thing preventing me from shoving him into the Seine is that paycheck of his, like you said! And with him tied around my finger, his money is as good as mine!"

Still shocked by this rant from Erica, Lobelia regained control of herself. "So, now that you've been found out by me, are you gonna drop that act and show the Captain the real you?"

"The _real_ me? Heck, no! And besides, you're not getting out of this alleyway alive, Lobelia."

"Huh? What are you-" Before Lobelia could continue, the world around her started spinning. She quickly placed an arm on the wall to prevent herself from falling over in this bout of dizziness. As she tried her best to catch her breath, she gasped out, "What the? What's-"

"I spiked your drink," Erica calmly explained, walking over to Lobelia to get a better view of her in this vulnerable state. "You honestly thought that I was gonna let you walk away after you witnessed me in the dressing room? Of course not. The next thing you'll know, you're gonna get chopped up and get shipped to Fiji!"

Lobelia's breathing was getting more and more raspier. _I have to go get help_ , she thought to herself as she started limping towards the street. It was no use as she quickly found herself collapsing to the ground, her strength getting drained from her. She heard footsteps approaching followed by a hard boot suddenly stepping on her head.

She heard Erica giggle her innocent giggle as she looked down upon her.

"Good night, Miss Carlini, for Paris shall have one less rat in its street tonight."

With this increasing pain in her head, and the effects of the drink's drug kicking in, Lobelia found herself quickly losing consciousness

[...]

"Lobelia? Hey, Lobelia!"

Her head still hurt. Her arms were the only pillows she had as she rested on them. Just five more minutes…

"LOBELIA!" A sharp voice rang in her ear. In a rare state of vulnerableness, Lobelia screamed, looking around. Panicked, she quickly calmed down as she regained her bearings. She was in Chatte Noire, and judging by the chairs being stacked on the tables behind her, Chatte Noire seemed to have closed up for the night a couple hours ago. Her eyes turned from this scene to a familiar brunette standing next to her.

"E-Erica?!" Lobelia jumped, startled that her assailant was right in front of her.

"It's getting really late, and you looked like you were having a bad dream."

As she took in this information, Lobelia sighed to herself. Right, it was just a dream.

Looking at the counter in front of her, she saw a bottle of whiskey here, accompanied by a wineglass on its side. A small amount of alcohol lingered in the glass.

"You should probably turn in for the night. Do you need me to help carry you to your room?"

"Nah, it's fine." Lobelia stepped up from her seat, only to stumble forward, with her arm grasping the counter preventing her from falling into another bizarre nightmare again.

"...Alright, so it's not fine." Lobelia muttered to herself as she tried pushing herself up. To her surprise, she felt an arm go beneath her right shoulder as she felt herself be lifted up.

"Let's get you to bed, Ms. Lobelia." Erica said as she guided Lobelia forward gently. As they began the journey down to Lobelia's room, she realized that this was the real Erica. Not some maniacal gold digging sociopath, just an airheaded nun who just tries her best. Nothing more, nothing less.

As they finally reached Lobelia's room after what seemed like eternity, Erica spoke up.

"Will you be fine from here, or do you need my help?"

"...I need some help." Lobelia muttered.

She heard the door to her room open as she felt herself get pulled along again. After a short bit, Lobelia felt herself meeting the familiar softness of her bed, accompanied by an also familiar creaking of springs.

She looked up and saw Erica looking down upon her, a concerned look on her face.

"Is there anything else you need, Lobelia?" Her words were genuine, she realized. Maybe she should take her up on that offer…

"Yeah," She lifted her arms and pulled Erica onto the bed, a quick 'Eep' coming from her. "Could you spend the night here? I don't feel like being alone."

After a few moments of silence, Erica lifted herself up and crawled up next to Lobelia. "If it'll help you feel better," She said, kicking off her boots, "Then I guess it's fine if I stay with you for the night." She laid her head on Lobelia's shoulder.

This girl and the one from her dream were two completely different people, Lobelia realized as she saw Erica's face next to her. Judging her repetitive and soft breathing as she lay snuggled up beside Lobelia, Erica must have already fallen asleep. Lobelia allowed a soft smile to form on her face as she pulled up the covers above the two. As she closed her eyes and as sleep began to take effect, Lobelia hoped, in spite of this pounding in her head, that this very same girl would appear in her dreams again.


End file.
